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Basic Constitutional Concepts
Congressional Pugilists.
Scene from a brawl between Representatives Mathew Lyon and Roger Griswold in the
Hall of Congress on February 15, 1798. Such behavior is rare, however, and Members
of Congress have traditionally conducted themselves in an orderly manner. In the
early days, as the cartoon correctly relates, members were permitted to bring their
hunting dogs into the chamber. (Courtesy of the Library of Congress.)
ernment in the same hands.’’ Accordingly, the Framers enthusiastically
embraced the separation of powers doctrine but incorporated a check and
balance system into the machinery of government. This, together with the
distinctly American system of federalism, rendered the Constitution truly
unique. The credit for the checks and balances feature of the Constitution
probably goes to a group of astute Massachusetts lawyers, however, for it
was they, under the leadership of John Adams, who wrote the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780—the first to introduce the check and balance
concept that later became a part of the United States Constitution.